Thursday I’ve written a lot about people’s hopes in Robert Mueller, which helps explain the palpable disappointment in his performance yesterday before two Congressional committees. From one perspective, there’s no reason to feel let down. After all, his report exposed one of the great scandals in American history: our president welcomed and encouraged Russian election […]
Tag Archives: Fyodor Dostoevsky
Mueller Demythologized
Posted in Uncategorized Also tagged "In the Pine Woods Crows and Owl", Arthur Conan Doyle, Crime and Punishment, David Lodge, Jean Renoir, Mueller Report, Robert Mueller, Rules of the Game, Russia investigation, Sherlock Holmes, Small World Comments closed
Is Loving Our Neighbor Asking Too Much?
Spiritual Sunday This past week, I attended a special Bible study session on the Good Samaritan parable where Sewanee’s Rev. Amy Lamborn emphasized just how radical God’s second great commandment is. Jesus tells the story in such a way, she pointed out, that call out his audiences prejudices. At a time when we are turning […]
Posted in Uncategorized Also tagged Brothers Karamazov, Donald Trump, immigrant child separations, Parable of the Good Samaritan, Trumpism Comments closed
Does Sade Explain Trumpism?
Thursday A recent reflection about Trump and Trumpism by Editorial Board’s John Stoehr has me thinking of the Marquis de Sade and Fyodor Dostoevsky. To understand the president and his devoted followers, Stoehr says, try sadism. Stoehr is initially puzzled that people like Trump don’t want power in order to enact policy. He comes to […]
Posted in Uncategorized Also tagged Brothers Karamazov, Donald Trump, Justine, Marquis de Sade, sadism Comments closed
Come, Holy Spirit
Pentecost Sunday Nobel Prize-winning Polish poet Czeslaw Milosz uses the occasion of Pentecost to explore the nature of faith in his poem “Veni Creator.” Although the apostles may have been filled with the Holy Spirit, what about those of us who don’t experience tongues of flame? Here’s Luke’s description of moment (Acts 2:1-4): When the […]
Posted in Uncategorized Also tagged "Gerontion", "Venite Creator", Brothers Karamazov, Czeslaw Milosz, Grand Inquisitor, love, Pentecost, T. S. Eliot Comments closed
Zamiatin Anticipated Trump Cultism
Friday Having just reread Eugene Zamiatin’s dystopian novel We (1920) for the first time since encountering it in 1972 in a junior-level utopian literature class, I’m struck by how it captures the cult behavior of Donald Trump fans. The novel even features a protective wall. Although Zamiatin supported the 1917 Bolshevik revolution, by 1920 he […]
Posted in Uncategorized Also tagged authoritarian states, Donald Trump, Eugene Zamiatin, Grand Inquisitor, panopticon, We Comments closed
Does the GOP Love Big Brother?
Do Congressional Republicans flatter Trump Goneril-like out of convenience or do they “love Big Brother”? Dostoevsky’s Grand Inquisitor may hold the key.
Posted in Uncategorized Also tagged "Maldive Shark", 1984, Brothers Karamazov, Congressional Republicans, George Orwell, GOP, GOP Tax Plan, Grand Inquisitor, H. G. Wells, Herman Melville, Invisible Man Comments closed
Trump as Raskolnikov
Is Trump as Raskolnikov, unable to hide the fact that he’s committed a crime so that a relentless detective is able to track him down. But while Mueller may be a Porfiry, Trump isn’t deep enough to be a Dostoevskian hero.
Posted in Uncategorized Also tagged Crime and Punishment, Donald Trump, Idiot, Russiagate Comments closed
The Grand Inquisitor Was Right
To understand Donald Trump’s stunning victory, turn to Dostoevsky’s Grand Inquisitor. The lure of an authoritarian leader and the challenges of a pluralistic and multicultural society can be found in Ivan Karamazov’s parable.
